Flatiron support mechanism



Sept. 29, 1942. J. c. FAGAN FLATIRON SUPPORT MECHANISM Filed April 26, 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet l ll l - I I Illlllllllll fizve dr Sept. 29; 1942- J; c. FAGAN FLATIRON 'SUPPORT MECHANISM Filed April 26, 1939 2 Sheets-$166112 parts positioned accordingly; and

Patented Sept. 29, 1942 John C.'Fagan, Philadelphia, 1a., assignor to vProctor & Schwartz, Inc., Philadelphia, Pa., 1. corporation of Pennsylvania Application- April as, 1939. Serial No. 270,208 '14 Claims. (of. 38-49) This invention relates to devices for supporting a flat-iron away from an operating surface whenever the iron is not being used. The principal object of the invention is to provide an improved device of this character embodying certain novel features which render the device a distinct improvement over prior devices of the same class.

A more specific object of the invention is to provide a device of this character which may be operated with a minimum amount of effort on the part of the user and whlcheliminates entirely'any necessity for lifting the iron during use.

A further object of the invention is to provide a ,device of this character wherein the supporting means for the iron has an associated latching mechanism which may be tripped by a finger-operable element to cause the iron to tilt upward on its support, and when it is desired to again use the iron, the supporting means may be moved to inoperative position simply by pressing downward on the handle and by depressing a latch member on the handle with the palm of the hand grasping the handle.

Other objects and features of the invention will be apparent as the description proceeds.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of the flat-iron showing a substantial portion thereof in section to illustrate the mechanism provided by the invention, the parts being in position for use of the iron;

Fig. 2 is an exploded view showing the parts of the support mechanism in perspective;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view showing the latch tripped;

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 1 but showing the iron in tilted position with the operating Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 5-5 of Fig. 1 and showing the nested position of the support legs.

Referring to the several views of the drawings,

v the flat-iron comprises a flat-iron body I and a handle 2 fixedly secured thereto. For the most part, the handle is hollow to accommodate the parts described hereinafter. The body I comprises the usual sole plate 3 and cover 4 which, in the present instance, extends beyond the rear oi! the soleplate to provide a rearwardly-extendrecesses II in the body l;.as'shown in Fig. 1. The

supporting members 9 also comprise a pair of arms l2'which extend upwardly into the handle and which carry at their ends a roller l3. A cross-bar l4 extends between arms l2 and carries a screw I 5 on which there is a nut I6 adapted to retain the upper end of a heavy coil spring II, the lower end of which is secured to 9. lug I! on plate 6. At the rear of the handle, there is a removable plate I! which permits access to the screw 15, thereby permitting adjustment of nut l6 to vary the tension of the spring.

Whenthe supporting member is in its inoperative position, as shown in Fig. l, the spring I! is under tension, so that it tends to rotate the supporting member clockwise relative to the iron, as viewed in Fig. 1. In other words, the spring urges the supporting member to its operative position shown in Fig. 4, but the supporting member is normally held in its inoperative position against the action of the spring by means of the latching mechanism now to be described.

Within the hollow portion of handle 2, there is pivotally mounted an arm or lever 20, the pivot pin being shown at 2|. On the same pivot, there is pivotally mounted a finger-operable member 22 which protrudes from an opening in the handle at the front thereof and ha. a serrated portion 23 engageable by the thumb of the user of the iron. The arm .or lever 20 extends rearwardly from its pivot and, at its free end, it is formed to provide a cam 24 having a cam edge 25. A saddle member 35 straddles the upper edge of the cam 24 and is secured thereto. This saddle member protrudes through an opening in the handle, thus providing a pedal-like member which is engageable by the heel por-' tion of the users hand for a purpose which will be understood presently. A lug 26 extends laterally from the arm 20 and has secured thereto one end of a spring 21, the other end of which is secured to a latch bar 28. The latter has one end pivotally secured to member 22 at 29 while its other end 30 is slidably disposed within an opening or recess 3| (see Fig. 2) in lug 26. A latch member 32 is secured within the handle at 33 and is cooperatively associated with the end 33 of latch bar 28. The upper end of the latch member 32 is formed to provide a hook-like por-- tion 34 (see Fig. 2) which engages and holds the end 30 of latch bar 28 when the parts are in the position shown in Fig. 1.

When the fiat-iron is being used, the parts are disposed as illustrated in Fig. 1, the bar 28 being latched by latch member 32 and the cam 2| engaging the roller l3 to maintain the supporting member 9 in inoperative position. It will be noted that the latch bar 28 extending through lug 26 holds the arm 20 in the position illustrated, thereby maintaining the cam 24 in effective position. Moreover, through the action of spring 21, the finger-operable member 22 is maintained in its rearmost position shown in Fig.1.

-When it is desired to discontinue the use of the flat-iron, the user engages the latch-tripping member 22 with the thumb, moving the said member forwardly about pivot 2|, as shown in Fig. 3. This causes the bar 28 to slide forward until the end 30 is released, whereupon the arm 20 is no longer held downward and the spring I! becomes effective to cause relatively movement between the flat-iron and the supporting member 9. Since the arms I ,cannot move be-' spring 21 causes the arm to pivot slightly,

thereby raising the saddle member 35 to a raised position as shown in Fig. 4.

The only purpose of the member 22 is to trip the latching mechanism and, as soon as this is accomplished, this member may be released and is returned to its normal position by spring 21.

This moves the latch bar 28 toward member 32 but the end 30 is out of line with the hook-like portion 34. I

When it is desired to again use the iron, the user grasps the handle in the normal manner and exerts downward pressure, causing the iron to move toward the ironing surface, thereby bringing the supportingmember substantially into its inoperative position. In this manner, the iron itself' is used as a lever or fulcrum to bring the supporting member into its inoperative position and very little pressure is necessary to effect this action, particularly since the iron is of substantial weight and tends of itself to move downward. Simultaneously with the exertion of pressure on the handle, the heel portion of the user's hand engages the saddle member 35, depressing the same and causing thev cam edge to love the supporting member until the legs ID are completely retracted within their seating recesses. The depressing of saddle member 35 also serves to project the end of latch bar-28 under the hook-like end 34 of the latch member 32, thereby latching the parts in their positions shown in Fig. 1. It willbe noted that member 35 operates through cam 24 and arm l2 to raise the legs l0 slightly above the ironing surface after the iron has been lowered onto said surface. Since the pressure on saddle 35 must be sufiicient to overcome the resistance of the heavy spring I! which is then under tension, the operability of member 35 by the heel of the hand is important. Obviously the user is enabled to exert much greater pressure with the heel of the hand than in any other manner.

Thus, it will be seen that the user has only to trip the latching mechanism through the medium of member 22 and this causes the parts to move automatically to the position shown in Fig. 4. Moreover, when the user desires to again use the iron, it is only necessary to grasp the handle in the usual way and exert slight downward pressure, with the heel portion of the hand pressing the raised saddle member at the rear of the handle.- It will be seen, therefore, that there is supporting mechanism requires a very small amount of energy to operate the same.

While the invention has been illustrated and described with referenceto a specific form of the device, it will be understood that various changes and modifications are possible without departing from the scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. In a flat-iron, a flat-iron body, a handle fixedly secured thereto, supporting means on the iron movable to operative and inoperative positions relative to said body, means urging said supporting means to operative position, means within said handle for retaining said supporting means in inoperative position, latching means for holding said retaining means in effective position, a manually-operable latch-tripping mem her on said handle adapted to' release said latching means and thus cause movement of said supporting means to operative position, and a manually-operable member 1' protruding from within said handle and adapted to move said retaining meansto latched position when said supporting means is returned to inoperative position.

2. In a flat-iron, a'flat-iron body, a handle secured thereto, supporting means on the iron movable to operative and inoperative positions relative to said body, means urging said supporting means to operative position, means for retaining said supporting means in inoperative position, said retaining means comprising a 'movable camwithin said handle and a member engageable by said cam to retain said supporting means, a manually-operable member on said handle for moving said cam to effective position,

no need to lift the iron at any time and the latching means for maintaining said cam in effective position, and a second manually-operable member on said handle for releasing said latching means.

3. In a fiat-iron, a flat-iron body, a handle secured thereto, a supporting member pivoted at the rear of said iron and having an arm portion extending upward within said handle, a spring arranged to urge said supporting member to its supporting position, a lever pivoted within said handle and carrying a cam engaging said arm portion to hold said supporting member in inoperative position, a saddle member on said cam protruding from said handle and depressible to move the cam to effective position, latching means for maintaining said lever and said cam in effective position, and a latch-tripping member on said handle adapted to release said latching means to allow said spring to cause movement of said supporting member to its supporting ing attached to said boiiy, a unitary support pivoted at the rear ofthiron and movable to operative and inoperative positions, a latching mechanism within the hollow part of said handle for maintaining said support in its inoperative position, and manual operating means for said mechanism extending exteriorly of said handle for operation by theuser.

5. In a flat-iron, a body, a stationary handle having a front leg and a hollow part including a rear leg secured to said body, a unitary support member pivoted at the rear of the iron and movable to operative and inoperative positions, a lever arm on said member extending within the hollow rear legof said handle, movable means within said handle adapted to engage said arm xhaving a front leg and a hollow part including a rear leg secured to said body, a unitary support member pivoted at the rear of a the iron and movable to operative and inoperative positions, a lever arm on said member extending'within the hollow rear leg or said handle, means urging said support member to its operative position, mov- 'able means within said handle adapted to en- .gage said arm and hold said support member in its inoperative position, manual operating means for said holding means extending to the exterior of said handle for operation by the user, means within the hollow part of said handle for latching said movable means in effective holding position, and manually-operable means for releasing said latching means.

7. In a flat-iron, a body, a stationary handle at least part of which is hollow, said handle being attached to said body, a unitary support pivoted at the rear of said body and having a pair of legs extending forwardly of the iron on opposite sides thereof, said support being movable to operative and inoperative positions, an actuator integral with said support and extending into and housed within a hollow portion or said handle, movable means within the hollow part of the handle adapted to engage said actuator and hold said support in its inoperative position, means within the hollow part of said handle for latching said movable meansin effective holding position, and manually-operable means for releasing said latching means.

-8. In a flat-iron, abodv, a handle aflixed to said body and having'a hollow portion, a support carried by said body and movable to support and retracted positions, said support having a portion extending into the hollow portion of said handle, a spring connected between said body and. the said portion of the support, whereby to effect relative movement between the iron and the support so as to raise the iron on said support, means for adjusting the tension of said spring to vary the rate of said movement, and a removable plate on said handle topermit access to said adjusting means.

9. In a flat-iron, a body comprising a sole plate and a cover, and a support for said iron com prising a pair or legs carried by said body, said legs extending along the sidesot said sole plate,

and being movable to support and retracted positions, said sole plate being cut away at its lower side edges to provide recesses underlying said cover to receive said legs when the latter are in retracted position, and the legs being constructed 4 and arranged to substantially disappear within said cover when in retracted position and to blend with. the lines and surfaces of the sole plate, whereby said legs may be very strongly constructed without causing an unsightly appearance of the iron.

310. In a iiatiron, a body, a handle thereon having a hollow gripping portion, a lever arm disposed within said hollow gripping portion 01' the handle and pivoted at its front end, a manually-operable member attached to the rear end of said arm-and protrudingfrom the handle at the rear of said gripping portion, said member being movable from a position in which it is slightly elevated to a depressed position in which it is substantially contiguous with the. handle surface, whereby said member is depressible bythe heelof the users hand while grasping the handle forwardly of said member, supporting, means on the iron movable to operative and in operative positions relative to saidbody; and means on said arm for actuating said supporting means to its inoperative position in response to depression of said member.

11. 'In a flat-iron, a body, a stationary handle at least part of which is hollow, said handle being attached to said body, supporting means on the iron movable from an operative position in which it supports the iron to aninoperative position above the ironing surface or the iron, means within said handletor moving said supporting means to its inoperative position, said last-named, means being operative only after the supporting means has been moved through a part 01. its travel toward the inoperative position, and an operating member extending from within said handle for actuating said last-named means.-

12. In a flat-iron, a body, a stationary handle secured theret'o, supporting means on the iron movable to operative and inoperative positions relative to said body, movable means for retaining said supporting means in inoperative position, latching means for holding said retaining means in eflective position, a first manual control member on said handle'for actuating said retaining 'means to latched position, and a second manual control member on said handle for releasing said. latching means to'permit movement or said supporting means to its operative position. 13. Inv a flat-iron, a flat-iron body, a handle comprising a relatively stationary portion and two relatively movable members, one of the said movable members being located at the front portion 01' said handle so as to be easily operable by the operator's thumb, and the other of the said movable members being located at the rear portion or said handle so as to be easily operable by the heel of the operator's hand, supporting means on the iron movable to operative and inoperative positions relative to said body, means anism operable by said front movable member.

14. In a flat-iron, a body, a handle having a gripping portion, a manually-operable pedal-like member located on said handle rearwardly beyond said gripping portion and movable from a position in which it is slightly elevated to a de-' pressed position in which it is substantially contiguous with the handle surface, whereby said member is depressible by the users hand while grippingthe gripping portion of said handle, supporting means on the iron movable to operative and inoperative positions relative to said body, and means operable by said member for actuating said supporting means to its inoperative position in response to depression of said member. 7

J OHN C. FAGAN. 

